Act III Scenes i & ii

Scene 1: 
 
1. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Polonius?
They tell the King that there is something wrong with Hamlet, but he won't tell them what. He probably wouldn't tell them because he knew that they were spying on him.
 
2. How does Claudius react when Polonius says, "…with devotion's visage, And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself"?
He begins to feel really guilty because he realizes that he is always covering up his massive sin (murdering his brother) with his thoughts and words, just as Polonius is saying people usually do when pretending to believe in God.
  
3. What plan do Polonius, Claudius and Ophelia now put into action?



Ophelia is going to talk to Hamlet and try and figure out what is wrong with him while Claudius and Polonius spy on them.
 
4. What is the nature of Hamlet's soliloquy, lines 57-91?
 It's very dark. He casually talks about taking action, suicide, and the afterlife. He is upset that his mother married his uncle, and he is upset with Ophelia because she is pretending not to love him though he knows she does. 

5. What is Hamlet's main argument against suicide?
 We don't know what happens after death. He doesn't know if death will be greater than life or worse than life, which is why he isn't willing to take his life. 

6. Why does Hamlet treat Ophelia as cruelly as he does? What has changed him?
He knew that Polonius was using Ophelia to spy on him so he didn't want to get to close to her because of his plan of revenge on the King. He is also mad at her because she betrayed him. 

7. What thinly veiled threat to Claudius does Hamlet voice, after he becomes of his hidden presence? (lines 148-150)
He says that all people, except one (Claudius), that are already married shall live. 

8. At the end of this scene, what does the King decide to do with Hamlet?

He wants to send Hamlet to England.


Scene 2:
 
9. What qualities in Horatio cause Hamlet to enlist his assistance?
 Horatio hasn't given Hamlet a reason not to trust him. He understands what Hamlet is trying to do. Horatio is the only person that Hamlet trusts.

10. What does Hamlet ask Horatio to do?
 He asks him to observe King Claudius's reactions to the play. If he noticed the King getting nervous or acting strange, Hamlet will know that he is guilty of killing Old Hamlet and will have the proof he needs to be able to take action against him. 

11. Summarize what happens in the play-within-a-play.
 The play-within-a-play basically tells the story of Old Hamlet's murder. There is a little scene that acts out the story, sort of like a teaser (or a movie trailer). Then the actual play starts with a king an queen being all lovey-dovey to each other. Some words are exchanged, the queen leaves and the king falls asleep. Then, the king's nephew enters and puts poison in the king's ear killing him. 

12. Why, in line 233, does Hamlet refer to the play-within-a-play as "The Mouse-trap"?
 Because Hamlet has set a trap for King Claudius. Depending on the King's reaction will determine if he killed Old Hamlet.

13. What is the King's reaction to the play?
 He brings the house lights and storms out of the theater making everyone leave. He basically confessed to the murder.

14. In lines 354-363, to what object does Hamlet compare himself? Why?
 He compares himself to a recorder that people 'play'. He feels that even though people are trying to 'play' him, he will not stand for it. (he is much to smart for that and always a step ahead of everyone.

15. As Hamlet goes to his mother at the end of this scene, what does he admonish himself to 
do?
He has pretty much lost all faith in her. He hates her, but he isn't going to kill her. He just wishes that she weren't alive anymore. 

Act 2 Sections

Act 2: Scene 1 - Lines 1-198 (Summary just because)

      Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes; he wants Reynaldo to spread rumors about Laertes to find out the truth about he is doing France. Even though Reynaldo thinks its wrong, he does it anyway. Ophelia shows up and tells Polonius that Hamlet has been to visit her but he was acting weird. He entered Ophelia's room, grabbed her wrist and held her out at arms length away. He looks at her face for a long time, sighed, and then turned and walked away. Polonius tells her that he will inform the King of Hamlet's odd behavior.

Part 1 Act 2: Scene 2 - Lines 1-86

      The king and queen have summoned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet for them. They think that because the men are Hamlet's childhood friends that he may have told them what was bothering him so much. They agree and exit to find Hamlet. Voltemond has returned from Norway with good news. Old Norway has said that he had no idea that Fortinbras was planning to attack Denmark. He agrees to end Fortinbras's plan.

Part 2: Act 2: Scene 2 - Lines 87-216

      Polonius tells the king and queen (after some psycho babble) that he knows what is wrong with Hamlet. He thinks that Hamlet is mad because he is in love with Ophelia and he has a letter from to prove it. The letter is supposedly from Hamlet and he professes his love to Ophelia. Hamlet enters reading a book. Polonius strikes up a conversation with Hamlet (who doesn't want to talk to Polonius) and all Hamlet does is insult him.

Part 3: Act 2: Scene 2 - Lines 217-358

     Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come in to talk to Hamlet. Polonius leaves and the old friends start to catch up. They talk about how Denmark is a prison, but only to some because who decides what is good or bad in the world? Everything that has happened to Hamlet in Elsinore he has deemed as bad, so he thinks that Denmark is a prison. Hamlet then asks why they are here because he knows that they were sent for, he just doesn't know why and for what. They tell him that they were indeed sent for. Hamlet goes off on a big long speech in which he discusses stuff (I'm not sure what he says here) and  Rosencrantz says that he has seen the players coming to Elsinore. Hamlet gets a little excited because he LOVES the theatre...

Part 4: Act 2: Scene 2 - Lines 359-592

     The players enter Elsinore. Polonius comes to tell Hamlet that they are here. Hamlet greets them and welcomes them to the kingdom. Polonius jabbers about what kind of plays that the actors do (though Hamlet already knows), Hamlet then compares Polonius to Jephthah and asks the players to recite something. He asks them to recite a scene about Pyrrhus at the fall of Troy. The scene talks about Pyrrhus getting revenge for the death of his father Achilles (much like Hamlet plans to do). Hamlet starts the scene and the main actor continues. The actor is moved to tears so Polonius makes him stop. Hamlet asks the actors if they can do a play that he wrote (he is going to try and get the king to confess that he killed Hamlet's father) and they agree. Hamlet bids them good night and tells his childhood friends that they are welcome to stay in Elsinore. When he is finally alone, he compares himself to the actors and can't understand why the guy was moved to tears by the words alone. He says that Heaven and Hell are both giving him the 'go ahead' to get revenge for his father's murder; but all Hamlet can do is whine and complain about how terrible his life is. He knows that his plan to get the king to confess that he murdered his brother is a perfect time to catch Claudius in his lie.

Act 2 Study Questions

1) What does Polonius tell Reynaldo in the opening of Act II? How does he plan to trap his son?

He wants Reynaldo to go to France to spy on Laertes. While spying, Polonius wants him to find others Danes in France and spread rumors about him to see if they are true. 



2) What does this say about Polonius?

Polonius only cares about Polonius. He wants to know what Laertes is doing because he wants his son to uphold the family reputation.



3) What particularly in Act II scene 1 has disturbed Ophelia?

Hamlet is acting crazy. He enters Ophelia's room, grabs her wrist and holds her out at arms length away. He looks at her face for a long time as if he wanted to draw her. He sighs a heavy sigh and then turns and walks away.

4) Why have Rosencrantez and Guildenstern been sent to Denmark?

To spy on Hamlet for the King. Rosencrantez and Guildenstern are Hamlet's childhood friends and the king hopes that Hamlet will open up to them.

5) What does Hamlet ask the players to recite? How does the allusion mimic Hamlet’s position?



He wants them to recite The Murder of Gonzago. A play that he has written. The plot of the play is much like what has just happened to Hamlet. Hamlet is going to add some lines into the play that will get the king to confess that he murdered his brother.


(He wants them to recite Christopher Marlowe's (Shakespeare's rival) play Dido, Queen of Carthage, which is based on the Aeneid, Book II.)

Identify the following speaker of the following lines and discuss to whom the lines are being delivered, and what do the lines mean?

6) “No, my lord, but as you did command/ I did repel his letter, and denied his access to me”

Ophelia to her father.



She is telling her father that she has cut off all contact to Hamlet (she sent back his letters) just like he told her too. 

7) “More matter less art”

Queen to Polonius


She wants Polonius to quit babbling and get to the point


8) “That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell/ Must like a whore unpack my heart with words,


Hamlet to himself/audience



Hamlet wants to get revenge and he is getting signs from both Heaven and Hell that he should get revenge. But all he can do is prance about and whine about how much his life sucks.

9) “Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth/ And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,/ with windlasses and with assays of bias,/ By directions find directions out.”

Polonius to Reynaldo



By telling lies about Laertes, Reynaldo will find out the truth about what Laertes is doing in France.




10) “For if the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion-Have you a daughter?”

Hamlet to Polonius



Hamlet is the son of Denmark but he is also the light (sun) of Denmark...Help!

11) List three metaphors (1 direct, 1 implied, 1 extended) from the play.

Direct: Polonius is a fishmonger (Act 2: Scene 2, Line 174)



Implied: Lies are poison (they enter through your ear, like how Claudius poisoned King Hamlet)


Extended: Denmark is Hamlet's jail




12) What proof does Polonius have that he believe indicates Hamlet’s love for Ophelia? 

A letter that is supposedly from Hamlet to Ophelia that states his love for her


13) Explain the quote, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” How does this relate to Hamlet.

Who decides what is good and what is evil? There really is nothing good or bad in the world. It's how people interpret it which makes it good or evil. Everything that has happened to Hamlet, he has perceived as bad (his father died and his mom got remarried to his uncle, which i would say is pretty bad), so he thinks that Denmark is a prison.


14) What is a fishmonger?

A pimp! (actually a person who sells fish on the wharf)

15) Who was Jephthah?


Jephthah was a Biblical man (Judges 11:30-40) who sacrificed his daughter for political advancement, much like Polonius is doing to Ophelia (he figured out that if Hamlet actually does love Ophelia and they get married, then he will be the father of the future Queen). 

Act 1 Scene 2,3,4

Scene 2


1. What is odd about Hamlet’s appearance in the opening of scene two?

He is dressed all in black. He is depressed and mourning the death of his father. He is also upset with his mother for getting remarried so quickly.



2. Explain (give at least two reasons) why Claudius needs to justify his marriage in the opening of scene two.

He needs to justify his marriage because he quickly married his brother's widow and his brother hasn't  been dead that long. He is the new king now and must pick up the kingly duties where his brother left off.



3. Laertes asks the King for leave to do what, specifically?


He wants to go back to France. He has come willing to Denmark to see the king's coronation, but wishes to return. 




4. Explain Hamlet’s insult when he says, “A little more than kin and less than kind.”

He is saying that his uncle is more related to him (being his father's brother and being married to his mother) than he is being kind. Claudius is trying to rationalize to Hamlet his reasons for marrying his mom and he thinks he has done Hamlet a favor because now he will take care of his mother as she grows old. 




Hamlet puns on the word 'kind'. He is mad at the King because he calls him son. Even though Claudius has married Hamlet's mother, he doesn't think of the King as his father and hates that Claudius acts so casually about the whole situation.


5. Explain Hamlet’s use of pun in the line, “Not so my lord, I am too much in the sun.”

He resents being called son by King Claudius. He doesn't like the fact the Claudius is casually throwing around the term 'son' because it wasn't to long ago that Claudius was his uncle.


6. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy it is obvious that what troubles him most is?

That his mother married not only his uncle, but she got married quickly after the King's death. He would consider suicide if there wasn't a religious law against it (sixth commandment is 'Thou shalt not kill').  He thinks his mother was weak and she was wrong in marrying a "satyr" when her first husband was like the sun god (Apollo?).  But because of the situation, he 'holds his tongue'.



7. What does Hamlet mean by the following lines:

“Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not ‘seems’.
‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath,
No, nore the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the visage,
Together will all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.



He is talking to his mother. He is angry with her because she asks him whats different about him (because he is dressed in black). He tells her that he is dressed in black because he is morning the death of his father. (Like she should be) The black clothes are just a hint of the grief he is feeling. He says that the way he is dressed and his mood may be cause for him to act out, but grief goes beyond outward appearance. 




Also starts the motif of Hamlet's obsession with the theater. 

8. What does Hamlet say about the baked meats and the funeral and the wedding.

The leftover food from the funeral was reserved cold at the wedding.


9. What news does Horatio, Marcellus and Barnardo bring to Hamlet.


They have seen his dead father's ghost dressed in full armor!




Scene 3




1) What is Laertes advice to Ophelia?

To not get close to Hamlet because he lies about his feelings for her. Laertes also tells Ophelia that he is the prince, and has a duty to his country, therefor, he can't choose who he marries because it should be for the good of the country (like a peace pledge).


2) How does “The canker galls the infants of the spring/ too oft before their buttons be disclos’d” fit into the ideology of the decaying garden?
Canker = HamletFlower = Ophelia

Hamlet, the canker-worm, would destroy the garden, Ophelia. Hamlet will ruin Ophelia because he will take her virginity and then she would have to go the the nunnery (to be a nun or prostitute).


3) What analogy does Ophelia give to her brother as an answer to his advice? What does she mean?

"Do not as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven...And recks not his own rede" (lines 47-51)

She means, don't be a hypocrite and take your own advice! She hints that she knows his real reason for going back to France.



4) List five of the “few precepts” that Polonius gives to Laertes.


Be a good listener to everyone, but be careful what you share about yourself.


Be friendly enough, but don't make yourself cheap.


Don't shake hands (in friendship) with every fresh young man.
Listen to every man's opinion but save your judgment.

Dress nice, but don't spend all your money on fancy clothes


Think before you act, don't make any reckless decisions.


5) In lines 105-109, what is the metaphor that Polonius uses to describe Hamlet’s words of love?

He compares his words to tenders (the coin) but says the aren'y sterling. Polonius says Hamlet's love for Ophelia isn't real.




6) List and explain one metaphor found in the lines 115-135.
"When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows." (Lines 115-117)

By blood, Polonius means sexual passion. He tells Ophelia that sexual desires (lust) will make you say anything that the other person wants to hear, like Hamlet telling Ophelia he loves her. Basically he says that it was lust that made Hamlet tell Ophelia he loves her.




7) What is Polonius’ command to Ophelia?

To not see Hamlet anymore.



Scene 4




8) In scene 4, what is Hamlet talking about in lines 13-38?

Horatio asks Hamlet if it was a custom for the king to fire the cannons while he toasts. Hamlet says that it is, but he doesn't approve of this tradition. It makes other nations think the Danes are drunks which makes them look weak.






9) Why doesn’t Horatio want Hamlet to follow the ghost?

It may be a evil spirit, Horatio doesn't want Hamlet to talk to the ghost alone because demons sometimes posses people and convinces them to do bad things. (They still don't know for sure that the ghost is Hamlet's father)





10) What is Hamlet’s command to the three guards?


He tells them that he is going to talk to the ghost, alone. He tells them that they have to be ok with it because his life is not worth living so he is willing to talk to a ghost that might be evil. 

Hamlet ~ Act 1 Scene 1

1) How is interest created in the opening scene? 
Talk about ghosts (and taking to ghosts) and setting up a play full of revenge.



2) What information are we given to help us understand the situation?
The backstory of the upcoming war. Old Fortinbras challenged King Hamlet to duel. They fought in hand-to-hand combat and King Hamlet killed Fortinbras, and took some land. Young Fortinbras wants revenge and wants to get the land back. He is raising an army and Denmark thinks he is going use it to fight for the land.



3) What happens at the end of the scene to create suspense and keep up the reader’s interest?
The three men plan to tell Hamlet that they are pretty sure they have seen King Hamlet's ghost.




4) What is the mood of the scene?
They are timid. The whole situation has an eerie vibe because they are trying to talk to a ghost





5) Why are the sentries apprehensive (there are two reasons)?
They are worried that because Horatio says the appearance of the dead King means something bad will happen to the country, they are afraid that Denmark might loss the war.

They are trying to communicate with a ghost.




6) What reasons are suggested by Horatio for the appearance of the late King’s ghost?
The nation is in trouble and the king has returned to warn the people of oncoming terror. Horatio think that because important figures usually come to warn bad omens, he thinks Denmark it going to lose the war they are preparing for against Norway. 

Beloved - theme and character list

Themes:
Abandonment
Supernatural Hauntings vs. Reality


Characters:
Sethe -
Denver - Sethe's daughter
Baby Suggs -Sethe's dead mother-in-law
Howard - Sethe's son who ran away
Buglar - Sethe's son who ran away
Beloved - Sethe's dead baby girl who haunts the house
Paul D - Man from Sweet Home
Halle - Sethe's possibly/most likely dead husband/baby daddy
Paul A
Paul F
Sixo


Setting:
(Ohio is right across the river from Kentucky)
(Ohio is free state, Kentucky is major slave state)


Sweet Home - ironic because it isn't a sweet home

124 - (3 is missing, Beloved is the 3rd child), Haunted House, before haunted it was a way station,



Motifs:
Ghosts/Hauntings



Symbols:
'Tree' on Sethe's back - Chokeberry tree,



Other Important Stuff:
~Past - acting on - present
~Escaping the past ~ How do you escape something that was traumatic?
~The journey from Slavery to freedom
~Idea of life and death and crossing over
~Ohio River
~Denver is born on the Ohio River, which isn't in KY or OH; this gives her hope for a better life than Sethe had
~

TEWWG ~ State ~ 35 - 65

1. "All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason...Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion...Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood." (Pg 145)
1. I just found it really interesting and it sticks out in my mind. 
2. It's saying that all gods who are worshipped are cruel. They need to make men afraid so they continue to pay homage. It says that it is ok to bribe demigods, but a full god needs blood to be satisfied. 
2.  "She paid homage to Janie's Caucasian characteristics as such." (Pg 145)
1. Their (Mrs. Turner) Eyes Were Watching God (Janie)
2. Mrs. Turner idolizes Janie. She treats her like a god because she has white features. Mrs. Turner despises black people. She herself is a black woman but she has lighter skin and thinks she is better than all the other black people. Janie also has lighter skin so she thinks that Janie is also better than all the black people. 
3. "Before the week was over he had whipped Janie. Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him." (Pg 147)
1. By whipping Janie it reassures Tea Cake of his possession over her. He is hitting her to show her that he is the boss. He is angry that Mrs. Turner is trying to get her brother to take Janie away from him so he beats her to show the other people in the 'Glades that he was power over her and she isn't going anywhere unless he tells her too.
4. "The men walking in front and the laden, stolid women following them like burros" (Pg 154)
1. This shows that even in the Native community the women are treated like mules. 
5. All of the animals leaving. (Pg 155)
1. Proves that the Indians were right and that a hurricane is coming because animals can sense these things.
6. "By morning Gabriel was playing the deep tones in the center of the drum." (Pg 158)
1. In the Bible, the Archangel Gabriel typically served as a messenger to the humans from God. 
2. Gabriel is sending a message to the people that the hurricane is coming to destroy their land. 
7. "It woke up old Okechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed. Began to roll and complain like a peevish world on a grumble." (Pg 158)
1. The hurricane is compared to a monster. Monsters are big and scary and kill things and so does the hurricane. It kills thousands of people and destroys miles of homes and land. 
2. This monster shows no mercy. 
8. "The people felt uncomfortable but safe because there were the seawalls to chain the senseless monster to his bed." (Pg 158)
1. Bed = sea
2. The people think that the seawall will protect them from the hurricane by keeping the water behind it. But they are wrong and the monstrous force of nature breaks through the walls and floods the town. 
9. "Ole Massa is doin' His work now. Us oughta keep quiet." (Pg 159) 
1. Ole Massa = god like? OR Ole Massa = Master (like a slave owner)?
2. Ole Massa is a figure from African Folklore. Hurston tells a story about Ole Massa in Mules and Men.
10. "Six eyes were questioning God." (Pg 159)
1. Their (Tea Cake, Janie, & Motor) Eyes Were Watching God (hurricane).
2. Janie, Motor, and Tea Cake are watching the hurricane to see whether or not they are going to be safe or if they are going to have to continue running. 
11. "Ah was fumblin' round and God opened the door." (Pg 159)
1. Janie says that before Tea Cake she was going about life with no purpose/in the metaphorical dark. Once she found Tea Cake, God opened her eyes to love and lead her out of the dark.
12. "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." (Pg 160)
1. God = hurricane
2. The people were watching the hurricane to see whether or not they were going to be ok or if  God had sent the hurricane to kill all of them. 
3. Tey are staring in the dark because the weather associated with the hurricane has blocked out the sunlight. Evil/cruel things happen in the dark. (Like a hurricane killing thousands of people)
13. "The sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel." (Pg 162)
1. The hurricane has come on land and was doing some serious damage. It's 'heavy heel' was crushing houses and killing people.
14. "Common danger made common friends." (Pg 164)
1. When two things (whether these things be predator vs. prey or two enemies) are being threatened by the same force, they will put their differences aside and band together to defeat it.
15. "He wuzn't nothing' all over but pure hate." (Pg 167)
1. Janie notices that something wasn't right about the dog. This dog was angry to his core. There was nothing nice about this dog. 
2. From the description of the dog, if you know about rabies (or have seen Old Yeller) you can guess that the dog is either just really super mean or he has rabies.
16. "You don't have have tuh say if it wuzn't fuh me, baby, cause Ah'm heah, and then Ah want yuh tuh know it's uh man heah." ( Pg 167)
1. Tea Cake wants Janie to know that he has always been there for her and always will be. He is a man who is strong/brave enough to fight off rabid dogs for the woman he loves.
17. "Death had found them watching, trying to see beyond seeing." (Pg 170)
1. Death had caught them watching God, hoping for salvation. Death hit them while their backs were turned and killed them. 
18. "Examine every last one of 'em and find out if they's white or black." (Pg 170)
1. The white men don't even want the different dead races mixing together. The white people need to be separated because they are going to receive a proper burial. 
19.  "Look lak dey think God don't know nothin' 'bout de Jim Crow law." (Pg 171)
1. Jim Crow laws were laws that mainly applied to the Southern States and mandated racial segregation in all public facilities with a supposedly 'separate but equal' status from the African Americans. Basically, the laws made it so the white people were treated better than the black people.
2. When Tea Cake and the other men are burying the people who died in the hurricane, the white men in charge told them to make sure that the white people were separated from the black people because the white folks had pine coffins being made for them. 
3. The fact that the white people get coffins makes Tea Cake and the other man think that the white men think that they are not only better than the blacks because they get a proper burial, but they are also better in the eyes of God. 
20. "It's bad bein' strange niggers wid white folks. Everybody is against yuh." (Pg 172)
1. Tea Cake recognizes that because they are black, they are lower class, but it's better to be lower class where you know the white people. When you don't know the white people, they may think you are a runaway slave or think that because you are black you are a bad person and be out to get you.
2. Tea Cake wants to go home where the white folks know who he is and where he knows he is safe among them because they aren't out to get him.
21. "Way in the midnight he woke Janie up in his nightmarish struggle with an enemy that was at his throat." (Pg 174)
1. This marks the beginning of Tea Cake's struggle to stay in control of his body. The 'demon' (the rabies infection) has begun to take its toll on his body. It wants to control Tea Cake.
22. "Janie, I'm pretty sure that was a mad dawg but yo' husband." (Pg 177)
1. Rabies!
2. Tea Cake has rabies. Once the rabies virus infects the central nervous system and symptoms begin to show, the infection is untreatable and leads to a painful death.
23. "God made it so you spent yo' ole age first wid somebody else, and saved up yo' young girl days to spend wide me." (Pg 181)
1. Tea Cake says that Janie doesn't look or act her age. He doesn't care that Janie is older because he loves her personality and may sometime forget that she is older because she can keep up with everything he does. 
2. Janie is sort of living her life in reverse. When you are young you are supposed to go live your life and experience things for yourself. When you are old is when you retire from life and sit on a porch or tend a store.
24. "Janie saw a changing look come in his face. Tea Cake was gone." (Pg 181)
1. The rabies has taken over Tea Cake and its making Tea Cake do things that he would otherwise regret. Janie realizes that the Tea Cake she loved is fighting an inner 'demon' whom has tried to possess his body.
25. "She broke the rifle deftly and shoved in the shell as the second click told her that Tea Cake's suffering brain was urging him on to kill." (Pg 183)
1. She realizes that after the second click of the pistol that the man she was standing in front of was not Tea Cake at all. He was completely gone. The demon has won and is urging the body to kill. She knows that she has to kill him but she is still hoping that she can talk him down.
26. "The pistol and the rifle rang out almost together. The pistol just enough after the rifle to seem its echo" (Pg 184)
1. This shows that Janie shot first. She knew that if Tea Cake had tried three times to kill her already he wasn't going to stop until she was dead. She anticipated the fourth shot and shot him before he could shoot her. 
27. "Janie struggle to a sitting position and pried the dead Tea Cake's teeth from her arm." (Pg 184)
1. Tea Cake bit her. If he broke the flesh, this would mean that he transferred the rabies virus to her. It is never said whether or not he broke the skin and if he did if she was administered the serum to prevent rabies.
28. "They were there with their tongues cocked and loaded, the only real weapon left to weak folks. The only killing tool they are allowed to use in the presence of white people." (Pg 186)
1. The black people who had gone to Janie's trial were ready to speak against her. Because they didn't know the whole story, they wanted to hurt (mostly verbally) Janie for taking away someone that the community loved. They wanted Janie to suffer because they think that she wanted Tea Cake gone and if that was the case than there were plenty of women willing to take him off her hands.
2. White people back then were always afraid to giving black people guns because they didn't want the slaves to rebel against them. They knew that if a slave knew how to use a gun, they would use it to get free. 
29. "If they made a verdict that she didn't want Tea Cake and wanted him dead, then that was a real sin and a shame. It was worse than murder." (Pg 188)
1. Janie just wants everyone to know that she didn't kill Tea Cake because she wanted to; she killed Tea Cake because she had too. Not only was it self-defense, but she also put Tea Cake out of his misery. She thinks that if she were falsely convicted of not loving Tea Cake and wanting him dead, it would be worse than murder because it would be a big misunderstanding.
30. "She called in her soul to come and see." (Pg 193)
1. Janie is at peace with Tea Cake's death because in her eyes, he isn't really dead. He may be physically dead, but he will forever be in her memory and heart. She tells her soul that it is OK to feel, it is OK to love again because Janie's true love is only mostly dead.

TEWWG ~ Hoonah Trip ~ 20-35

1. "Somebody got to think for woman and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don't think none theirselves." (pg 71)
1. By Joe saying this, you can tell what his idea of woman are. They are just dumb animals that (like a mule) that need to be told what to do because they aren't smart enough to figure it out for themselves.
2. "She was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels." (pg 76)
1.  Just when Janie thinks she can speak her mind or talk to Joe, he beats (sometimes literally) her down.
3. "Man attempting to climb to painless heights from his dung hill." (pg 76)
1.  This is an allusion to Sisyphus. In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus was a king whose punishment in Hades was to roll a very large boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down when he is almost to the top. Janie feels like her life is in an endless cycle of meaningless, medial tasks that Joe forces her to do.
4. "The motor hearse, the Cadillac and Buick carriages; Dr. Henderson there in his Lincoln; the hosts from far and wide." (pg88)
1. These are cars that are featured in a typical blues poem. Their Eyes Were Watching God is often  considered to be written in a blues poem format. Since Hurston specifies that the cars are Cadillacs, Buicks and Lincolns, this could mean that Zora Neale Hurston meant for the novel to be interpreted like a blues poem. 
5.  "Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist." (pg 89)
1.  By burning the head rags she is essentially burning all of the power that Joe had over her. She is setting herself free from Jody's control.
6. "He could be a bee to a blossom—a pear tree blossom in spring." (pg 106)
1.  In the beginning of the novel, you get an idea of what Janie thinks love is like. She can tell that Tea Cake is different from all of her other relationships. A guy like Tea Cake is what she has been looking for since the beginning. A sweet, kind, guy that listens and respects her.
7. "Janie. Ah hope God may kill me, if Ah'm lyin'. Nobody else of earth kin hold uh candle tuh you, baby. You got de keys to de kingdom." (pg 109)
1.  The word kingdom has a few connotations. Tea Cake could mean that Janie has the keys to his heart, or he could mean that she is like his queen and she can go where ever she pleases and he will follow. Either way Tea Cake is saying that he is in love with Janie, and may God strike him down if he is lying.
8. “Jody classed me off. Ah didn’t. Naw, Pheoby, Tea Cake ain’t draggin’ me nowhere Ah don’t wont tuh go.” (pg 112) 
1.  Janie is telling Pheoby that the Janie she thought she knew was not the real Janie. It was the Janie that Joe wanted and forced her to be. Joe wanted her as a trophy wife, so he made it so Janie couldn't really associate with the regular townspeople very much, such as when he wouldn't allow her to go to the funeral for the mule.
9. "Ah done lived Grandma's way, now Ah means tuh live mine." (pg 114)
1.  After her second marriage, Janie realizes that she hates her Nanny in a way. She hates that fact that Nanny twisted her way of thinking about love. Nanny told Janie that when you get married you don't have to love someone, you will grow to love them. Nanny just wanted Janie to have a man to take care of her and someone to grow old with and sit on a porch and enjoy the smaller things in life. Janie wanted adventure. She wanted someone that was going to love her for her and she didn't want to marry anyone that she wasn't in love with. 
2. She lived with Nanny's thought of love, now she was going to live out her thoughts of love.
10. "He done showed me where it's de thought dat makes de difference in ages." (pg 115)
1.  Janie is trying to get Pheoby to understand that she and Tea Cake are in love. That it doesn't matter that she is so much older than he is because as long as they love each other its ok.
11. "That was when she found out her two hundred dollars was gone." (pg 118)
1.  Janie is heartbroken. She is worried that what everything Pheoby had warned her about is true and that Tea Cake just married her for her money.
12. "Looka heah, Tea Cake, if you ever go off from me and have a good time lak dat then come back heah tellin' me how nice Ah is, Ah specks tuh kill yuh head. Yuh Heah me?" (pg 124)
1.  Janie wants Tea Cake to understand that she didn't marry him to be treated like a trophy. Tea Cake was worried that because Janie was classed up, she wouldn't enjoy going to a party with commoners. Janie assures Tea Cake that she goes where he goes. She wants to have fun just like he does. She has never experienced the same things that he has and she wants to know what its like.
13. "So her soul crawled out of its hiding spot." (pg 128)
1. Janie is now able to love like she has always wanted to. She is free to be herself. She realizes that what she has with Tea Cake is real; it is love. Not love like Nanny's idea of love, but her idea of love.
14. "She got to be a better shot than Tea Cake." (pg 130)
1. Foreshadow!
2. This is a foreshadow that Janie is going to have to shoot Tea Cake OR be able to out shoot Tea Cake. But because Fielding ruins the end of every book, we know that it is a foreshadow that Janie is going to shoot and kill Tea Cake.
15. "You'se something tuh make uh man forgit tuh git old and fogit tuh die." (pg 138)
1. Tea Cake is in love with Janie. He tells her that she is so wonderful that time almost stops when they are together. He doesn't care what happens in the world around him because he is married to an amazing woman.
   

TEWWG Journals 20-35

Fielding I am working on the journals. I have them started I'm just having some trouble picking things out to write about. I should have them done and posted by tomorrow morning.